Suspected bandits take over eight Taraba communities, prohibit residents' motion

Residents of eight communities in Karim-Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State are reportedly going through rising insecurity, with suspected armed teams accused of controlling entry to their communities, stealing belongings and threatening those that present details about their actions to safety companies.

The affected settlements are Kommodoro, Telejugu, Paskari, Farin-Ruwa, Dinya, Jamaga, Macijin Kirya and Chibi, all positioned across the borders of Taraba, Plateau and Bauchi states.

The scenario was dropped at public consideration by a neighborhood chief, Hon. Tanko Bobbo, who stated the threats had made it troublesome for residents to hunt intervention from safety companies.

Bobbo alleged that the gunmen use forest areas in Plateau State as their operational bases, from the place they cross into Taraba to raid settlements earlier than withdrawing.

He stated their actions embrace taking harvested farm produce, breaking into enterprise premises and subjecting villagers to threats and intimidation.

He additionally alleged that girls within the affected communities had suffered sexual abuse.

According to him, the armed males have warned residents towards reporting their actions to safety authorities, threatening to kill anybody suspected of sharing details about them.

The assaults reportedly continued on Thursday, when a farmer was shot whereas travelling to his farm between Jebjeb and Kampani, a settlement alongside the Taraba-Plateau boundary.

Another farmer was additionally reportedly attacked with a machete, sustaining an damage to his hand at about 9am.

Bobbo acknowledged the Taraba State Government’s efforts to handle the scenario, significantly its mobilisation of native hunters, provision of operational logistics and deployment of safety personnel to weak border areas.

He stated the state authorities was additionally looking for collaboration with neighbouring states to sort out the armed teams of their forest bases.

The neighborhood chief added that residents of Kommodoro had just lately sought the intervention of native leaders, expressing fears that they may not stand up to the repeated assaults and threats.

However, the police stated that they had not established the small print of the reported incidents.

The Taraba State Police Command’s spokesperson, ASP Victor Mshelizah, stated the DPO in Karim-Lamido had no report of the reported incidents on the time he was contacted.